


Just in case

by I_am_a_Cephalopod



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-28
Updated: 2014-05-28
Packaged: 2018-01-26 21:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1703888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_am_a_Cephalopod/pseuds/I_am_a_Cephalopod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt from smelling-rumple-leatherpantsu:  Hi! Here a prompt for Rumbelle in Fairytaleland: Belle discovers that Rumple has a room full of food and things, in case that one day he lose all his material posessions and returns to poverty :D Thank you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just in case

**Author's Note:**

> First Rumbelle story I've written, so I'm not entirely confortable writing the characters yet. I'll get there though.

The castle was growing, Belle was sure of it. It seemed like every day there were more rooms that needed to be cleaned, rooms that she had never seen before. And of course, Rumplestiltskin never helped her find her way around, which is how she now found herself lost.

Well, not really lost, she knew she was somewhere on the first floor of the castle, but she was in a hallway that was completely unfamiliar. On top of that, she was sure Rumplestiltskin would be mad when she wasn’t on time for tea, or at least disappointed. It had only happened once before, but he was surprisingly calm about it, seeming more sad than angry.

Deciding that one of the doors she was passing had to lead to a room with a window, so she could at least figure out which side of the castle she was on, she decided to try the room on her right. The door was surprisingly plain, almost like you’d expect on a pantry, but the nob was polished to a shine by use. That was odd, she had never been in here before, which meant that Rumple himself must use it often.

The door swung open easily on well-oiled hinges, and Belle was shocked by what was on the other side. Food. Crates and boxes of preserved food. With closer inspection, she could see some other things, like clothes and blankets among other things. Everything one would need to survive, just stored in this room, with no one using it.

“What are you doing here?” Rumplestiltskin’s voice came from behind her, causing her to jump and trip over herself. She was stopped from hitting the floor when the man behind her caught her arm, using it to pull her back upright. Unfortunately, she overbalanced and ended up falling back into his arms instead.

“I..I..I’m sorry, I was lost,” she stuttered, her face heating up in embarrassment as she got back to her feet. “I was hoping to find out where I was,” she tried to explain.

“What were you even doing in this part of the castle?” she asked, his smile verging on manic.

“I was cleaning, like you asked me to,” Belle explained.

“I didn’t ask you to do anything! I told you to do it, and that was a long way from this room.”

“I’m sorry, but… what is this room?” she asked, letting her curiosity get the better of her.

“What, are you daft? It’s a storage room!” he snapped. “Now come and serve me my tea.”

“Of course, but, why are you storing all this stuff? You don’t need it.”

The two started walking down the hall, Belle a step behind Rumplestiltskin. He seemed to be brooding, a storm cloud hanging over his head that would say ‘back off or you’ll get hurt’ to anyone else. Belle knew he wouldn’t hurt her, though, and decided it was a good idea to keep pushing.

“What’s wrong with being prepared?” he hissed as he spun around, stopping an inch away from Belle’s face. “Of course you’d never know what it’s like, to have nothing, so why would you ever prepare for it? No, your life has been easy, so mind your own business.”

He spun around again and started walking faster, not waiting for Belle to follow him. She ran to catch up before walking silently behind him, thinking about what she now knew. He had been poor before, not knowing if he would be able to eat, and now she knew he still feared that. He was preparing for the possibility that he would lose everything again, and Belle felt her heart tug towards him.  
He wouldn’t lose everything, she decided, no matter what. She would stay by him and take care of him, no matter how much he had.


End file.
